Baker City, Oregon
Edna V. Brill, 79, a longtime Baker City resident, died April 8, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Bill Cox of the McEwen Bible Fellowship will officiate. Vault interment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery. There will be a reception after the services at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St.
Visitations will be from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday at Gray’s West & Co.
Mrs. Brill was born on Jan. 5, 1922, at Baker City to Howard and Goldie Jacobs. She attended the Lookout Mountain-Five-Mile School, McEwen School in Sumpter Valley and Baker City schools.
During the war years, she worked in the shipyards, cutting fiberglass as a member of the Carpenter’s Union. She also operated dairies for many years on the old Biswell and Boyce ranches. She lived most of her life ranching and farming in Baker County.
Mrs. Brill loved flowers and gardening and took great pride in her yard. Canning, sewing and cooking for her family was her way of life. Holidays were big events for her, the more the better was her style. After moving to town in her later years, she became involved as a caregiver for several older women whom she came to love so much.
She loved her children and was crazy about all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Music and dancing also were a favorite part of her life. Her motto was: “If you can’t say something good about a person, don’t say anything at all.”
Survivors include her daughters, Joyce Cree of Lakewood, Colo., and Joann Wellman and her husband, Stan, of Baker City; her sons, Charles Cree and Joe Emery Jr. of Baker City; grandchildren, Debra Clark and her husband, Shawn, of Portland, Richy Rowe and his wife, Misty, of Pilot Rock, Donny Rowe of Ontario, Garla Rowe and her fiance, Roman Reyes, of Baker City, Betty Gardner of Lakewood, Colo., Sally Bissen and her husband, Chris, of Chino Hills, Colo., Valarie Cree of Huntington, Texas, Lisa Lisn of Jerome, Idaho, Sherryce, Jamie, Luke and Austin Emery of Baker City, Josuha Parisien of Baker City; great-grandchildren, Tannia and Richy Rowe Jr. of Pilot Rock, Maranda Sears and Jacob Coles of Portland, Chris, Kyra and Rachel Rowe of Baker City, Christina and Georgina Cree of Huntington, Texas; sisters, Erma Price, Odetta Miller and her husband, Frank, and Ethel Rogers and her husband, Vern, of Baker City; brothers, Dewey Jacobs of Baker City and Duane Jacobs and his wife, Patti, of Hermiston; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by the her husband, Boyd Brill Sr.; a daughter, Ada Cree; parents, Howard and Goldie Jacobs; her grandchildren, Jerry Lunceford and Cindy Cree; two brothers; an infant sister; and brother-in-law, John Price Sr.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice, P.O. Box 726, Baker City, Ore. 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 13, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor